Four Different Styles of Picnicking
There is nothing more fun or romantic than dining out of doors. There is that mystical sense of calm that seems to occur when you are relaxing at the beach on a warm summers day, in your garden or at an outdoor picnic concert. Turn off those phones, crank up some fine tunes and break out the food...
The Beach Picnic
If you are going to the beach, it must be hot. Be smart, bring a tent or an umbrella of some kind. It will keep you from getting sun stroke and you can always roll your body out for a few direct rays every once in a while. The Tiki Pop Up from the Hutshop is easy to put up, has its own wheeled bag and assembles in minutes. That tiki top is a flame resistant faux grass with wood looking steel poles. It looks cool, doesn’t it?
Are you always in a quandary when packing food for the beach? Most people end up unintentionally using sand as a condiment. To avoid that, bring easy to eat finger foods. Grapes and apples are perfect for munching. Southern fried chicken, sandwiches and cold salads in individual containers with lids work well.
The ‘Why Not?’ Picnic
Meet your sweetheart of friends for a lunch break. WHY NOT? Pack picnic hamper or backpack and take a break from your normal routine. Picnic baskets have become rather sophisticated. You can even buy one suited to the type of foods or drinks you most often pack.
Plan easy to eat food and don’t serve a five course meal unless you are going to set up for a while. Cheeses, crackers, fruits and raw cleaned veggies are a great start. For really easy sandwiches, especially with children or sloppy eaters aboard, try this:
Picnic Breads
Make or buy a pizza dough base. After it has risen, roll it out and cut it into 6″ circles by pressing the top of a large glass into the dough. Fill half of it with whatever you’d like:
- chopped ham with gruyere cheese
- mango chutney and a good Goat cheese
- diced veggies and a sharp cheddar.
- dampen the edges, fold in half and pinch the edges together. Brush with a beaten egg and let rise again.
- Bake it in a hot oven until golden brown.
These travel really well.
The ‘Let Someone Else Pamper You’ Picnic
Scott Dunn is a specialist in luxury planned holidays that can offer you and your family extraordinary vacations all over the world. If you want to dine outside in your own Villa in France or Tuscany, they will arrange it. If you want to picnic on a beach in Mozambique, no problem. Morocco, Abu Dhabi, the Caribbean…
Impromptu Style
Are you traveling a distance and just can’t seem to find someplace romantic to eat? Keep a picnic hamper in your trunk on those day trips. Find a store that might carry provisions that you’d like. Cheeses, breads, fruits and wine… Pack your picnic on the run and pull off the side of the road and find a spot to put your picnic blanket, eat, talk, doze and quite simple… live and love.
The season is upon us. If you have any recipes, suggestions or traditions or would even like to tell us what you do for your alfresco dining and picnics, leave it in the comments below. We can all use some ideas to make this season fun and enjoyable for all!
A Good Old 19th Century Murder Mystery – Meet Author, Lynn Shepherd
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The Daily Basics sat down to talk to writer, Lynn Shepherd about her book, The Solitary House. Lynn has meshed the format of a detective murder mystery with inspirations from classic writers such as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. We wanted to find out how this fascinating author ticks and how she created her latest ale inspired by Dicken’s London.
In addition, Lynn is offering a copy of her book in a Give Away here. To enter – email whoswho@thedailybasics.com and write in your name and ‘THE SOLITARY HOUSE”.
It is obvious that ‘Bleak House’ was your inspiration, but what was it IN the book that sparked your imagination to develop ‘The Solitary House’?
Lynn Shepherd - click for her website
I have to confess I didn’t actually realize it was Dickens’ bicentenary when I started writing The Solitary House. I’d written one ‘literary murder’ inspired by Jane Austen, so when I started to think about what I might explore next, Charles Dickens was an obvious choice – I think a lot of us still have our mental picture of Victorian London from either reading him or seeing the screen adaptations. It was only when I was halfway through the book that I checked his dates and realized I was about to have the most marvelous piece of luck!
As for why Bleak House, well it’s always been my favorite Dickens. I can still remember the sheer exhilaration of reading that famous opening for the first time, with the fog on the river and in the streets – it’s a master-class in setting a scene and perhaps one of the finest beginnings of any novel. The book is also, among many other things, the first detective story in English literature, so it was almost as if Dickens was beckoning me on.
'The Solitary House' in North America and entitled, 'Tom-All-Alone's' in the UK (click for info)
Bleak House is such a rich novel – a panorama of Victorian London and Victorian society, as well as an anthology of literary styles. Everything from social satire, to comedy, to psychological drama, to murder mystery. A writer like me can’t compete with that, and I didn’t even try. In fact I deliberately ‘pared it back’ to something much bleaker and leaner. I call it ‘darker than Dickens’, because The Solitary House is a tale Dickens would never have been able to tell.
I love the fact that you have woven the characters and events with ‘Bleak House’ into ‘The Solitary House’. Mysteries are so dependent on precision and dropping clues and facts at the right time – How were you able to ‘map’ this novel?
The whole story of Bleak House takes place over about seven years, but of course that’s far too long for the murder mystery format, so what I’ve done is take a small slice of that time – about three weeks in all – and mapped my story onto the events that take place in Bleak House during that period. At certain points in that time the two plots converge, and things that happen in Bleak House also happen in my book, though we see them from a different angle, and they can have a different significance for some of the characters involved.
Likewise I’ve drawn in characters from Bleak House, most notably Tulkinghorn and Inspector Bucket, but also Jo the crossing sweeper and Trooper George. Though I don’t want anyone to be put off who hasn’t read Bleak House – or any Dickens. I’ve deliberately constructed the story of The Solitary House so that it stands perfectly well on its own.
In developing the story, what part did you enjoy researching and writing the most? Did you uncover anything that surprised you?
The research for this book was much more intense than for Murder at Mansfield Park. For that book the emphasis was more on getting the language right, though I did have to investigate the (very rudimentary) criminal justice system that was in place in England in 1811.
For The Solitary House the greatest challenge was to ‘re-imagine’ Dickens’ London – to bring the city back to life. And of course my story is focused very much on the dirtier and darker side of the Victorian society, so I ended up, for example, doing a lot of research into the sex industry, some of which was very harrowing. I did already know that many women were forced to sell themselves or starve, but I wasn’t fully aware how many of them were either very old, or heart-breakingly young. Girls as young as six or seven, who were often prostituted by their own families, out of sheer despair and destitution.
I also wanted to take the reader with me on a journey through 19th century London, so I worked hard to evoke the different and distinctive districts of the city, from the dangerous slums of Seven Dials, to the grim reality of the leather trade in Bermondsey, to the glamour of the Haymarket by night. Lots of readers have told me that’s one of the aspects of the book they enjoyed the most.
Lynn Shepherd's first 'literary mystery', Murder at Mansfield Park (click for info)
I know many people want to know about the writers themselves. Could you give us some insight into how you came to be a full-time writer, and what your life is like as a writer?
Like a lot of people, I wrote lots of stories when I was a child, and then I studied English at university, so a love of words has been with me all my life. The ambition to write a novel and see it published has been there for a very long time, but it wasn’t until I went freelance as a copywriter in 2000 that I got the time and the brain-space to start writing creatively in a concerted way.
The first novel I wrote taught me a lot about the craft of putting a book together, and it actually included quite a lot of Austen pastiche that later found its way into Murder at Mansfield Park. Then there was another that nearly got published but not quite, and it was about then that I got an agent, which made a huge difference. And then right in the middle of writing him an email the title ‘Murder at Mansfield Park’ came into my head, and the rest, as they say….
Since then I’ve been trying to carve out my own niche of ‘literary murder’. What I want my books to offer is a fusion of what I myself love to read – classic English fiction and clever, ingenious crime. I never originally intended to write a sequel to Murder at Mansfield Park, but so many people loved Charles Maddox, the thief taker in that book, that I’ve ended up with a series in which he and his great-nephew are the central partnership of the books. They’re both in The Solitary House, and they’ll be back in the next novel, A Treacherous Likeness, which is coming out next year.
As for how my life as a writer works, I will admit that I’m very disciplined. I work out in the mornings, and then I’m at my desk by 8.30, whether I have a day of corporate copywriting ahead of me, or a day I can devote to my own work. But I’m definitely a lark rather than an owl, so I never write after 5 in the evenings. If I do, I tend to find I only have to do it all over again the following morning!
Follow Lynn on Twitter
Check out her website and blog at Lynn-Shepherd.com
Meet Lynn here as she speaks about ‘The Solitary House’
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What DIDN’T Happened at the Brimfield Tweetup?
Our fellow tweeter and #Brimfield attendee @brucebarone, photographer, took some fantastic shots. www.brucebarone.com
If you are an interior designer, an antique hunter, a party person, a decorating nut AND you missed the May #Brimfield Tweetup … you missed a great time. But don’t fret- here is a beginning overview of what and who was there. Oh, and by the way, we are going to be doing it again!
Only problem? There wasn't enough time to shop #Brimfield! Photo thanks to Joanne Palmisano over at Salvage Secrets.com
A bunch of folks who tweet together, antique hunt together
Team Cucksey! photo by Bruce Barone www.brucebarone.com
If you don’t tweet, this might prove to you that you HAVE to get a twitter handle. Everyone who attended met because of tweeting. We went shopping at the Brimfield Antique Market, discussed how to repurpose our antique finds, learned from each other and found new friends for life.
Style at Home led by editor, Erin McLaughlin, did a live Facebook stream repurposing finds from Brimfield and connecting directly with their readers!
This Twitter thing is not about be a techie – it is about ENRICHING your life by finding really fabulous normal people with the same interest. Honestly, where would I have met the entire Style at Home Magazine team headed by the uber fabulous Erin McLaughlin; Cari Cucksey from her HGTV show, Cash & Cari and her amazing fiance/partner, Vince from HGTV’s Cash & Cari, Cortney & Bob Novogratz from HGTV’s Home By Novogratz that came up from New York JUST to engage with us (PS – the most fun folks in the world!)?
So the answer to my question – Where else could you have had this opportunity? Many places – but in this case through engaging in Twitter and attending a Twitter inspired event. Now, look – isn’t this worth looking into for yourself? Read – Twitter Lessons.
We are just gathering up our photos and blog posts so check back later this week for the full Brimfield report including sources!
#Brimfield Sponsor News:
Benjamin Moore announced their new metal paints and chalkboard colors!
Company C Fabrics gave a sneak peek into the their 2013 line and Spring color predictions! (you will LUV!)
Kathryn Markel’s, Debra Marcoux brought her amazing line of emerging modern artists’ work to the tent with a raffle to win a piece of original art
Warren Bobrow highlighted our drinks sponsors: Tenneyson Absinthe, Polar Seltzers, Bitter End Bitter, Rose Syrup NY
Shane Inman designed, implemented and created the most WONDERFUL ambiance of a tent
Style at Home Magazine’s White Cover next month will be picked by the voters from the #Brimfield Tweetup
Saturday at Brimfield Sponsor, Robert Allen Design, announced their GORGEOUS new line of fabrics
Blog posts to start with until our update!
Joanne Palmisano from Salvage Secrets
Wisteria Home – Betty Ann Shephard
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The Top Ten Favorite Online Magazines in my Virtual Newsstand – Wayfair
I am honored to be one of the 12 regular bloggers for Wayfair.com. I love the piece I did for todays post over there and wanted to share it with you. Just click to read the whole piece on the best online magazines to read plus a little bit on what’s happening in the future for your favorite publications!
Cheers!
Cynthia
Oh, and by the way, this blog is worth following EVERY day!
The Daily Basics, Fashion + Decor at the Brimfield Antique Fair TODAY!
Warren Bobrow, The Cockail Whisperer stocking the bar for the 2012 tweeters! Do you love our decor? By Shane Inman from The Inman Company.com
The Daily Basics and Fashon + Decor are hosting the ‘tent at the event’ at the May Brimfield Antique Fair again this year starting today, May 10th through May 12th.
What is Brimfield?
If you don’t know…. The Brimfield Antique Fair is held three times a year in the quaint New England village of Brimfield, Massachussets. During the rest of the year it is a sweet sleepy little town where if you blink twice, you’ll drive right through it. The fair is held on the property of a dozen privately owned properties (‘fields’) that sit smack next to each other on Route 20. The fields are packed with white tents filled with approximately 6,000 individual antique vendors . About 130,000 people visit each Brimfield week. The dates for the event, which is held during three separate weeks in the summer are; May 8 – 13, July 10- 15 and September 4 - 9.
Setting up! We will be doing a post next week on what the event looked like in full swing- check back!
Why & What is a Tweet Up
Basically – it’s a party. Our large VIP tent is reserved for anyone who is involved in Social Media. We are located on Mill Lane Road in Hertan’s Field on May 10 – 11 -12th. Join in if you are coming!
Twitter is a truly amazing avenue where you can meet others who have the same interests as you. A TweetUp is a party that gives those who tweet a chance to meet each other face to face and not just online. Our group is as diverse as can be but we all have the common interest of antiques, design and shopping. Our age group ranges from 35 to 70 and they all tweet! Our 80′ x 30′ tent has a lounge area, tables for people to eat and tweet and Brimfield oriented events and activities courtesy of our sponsors, Benjamin Moore, Company C, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts and Robert Allen Design. Our media sponsor is Style at Home magazine who is bringing their top team in from Toronto!
Celebrities!
Our celebrities are from the home design field on HGTV. – Cari Cucksey from Cash & Cari, Cortney & Bob Novogratz from Home by Novogratz and Emily Henderson from Secrets from a Stylist. Follow them on twitter during the next three days and see what we all are doing and finding at Brimfield! We will be posting great antique news, trends and information.
- If you are on Twitter and want to follow along, put up a column in your HootSuite or TweetDeck for #Brimfield.
- If you are or are NOT on Twitter, go to TwitterFall and put in #Brimfield on the left hand side under Search. You can watch what people are saying live from Brimfield. There will be links to click on to see what they are seeing.
Many of the people who are coming to the Brimfield Tweet up will be blogging about what they found and the event. We will be posting all about it next week in case you miss anything.
Cari Cucksey, 'Cash & Cari' - @caricucksey
Bob & Cortney Novogratz, ' Home by Novogratz' @thenovogratz
Emily Henderson, 'Secrets from a Stylist' @em_henderson
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